Addis Ababa, A 10-year strategy that aims to transform the country into a major leather and leather products exporter was launched today.
The new Leather Sector Development Strategy tabled by Ministry of Industry aims to address challenges in the sector and realize the potential to drive economic growth.
Industry Minister Melaku Alebel stated on the occasion that Ethiopia’s livestock provide immense opportunity. The country has Africa’s largest cattle population along with significant sheep, goat and camel herds.
While Ethiopia has over 165 million cattle and produces 41 million hides and skins annually, the country’s leather sector under-performs, he noted, adding that only 22 million hides reach tanneries each year.
According to the minister, the leather sector has the potential to be a major source of foreign exchange and to create jobs for millions of Ethiopians.
“With the implementation of this new strategy, we are confident that we can achieve our goals and make Ethiopia among the top leather and leather products industry.”
If implemented effectively, it will have a transformative impact on the sector and help Ethiopia to achieve its full potential as a leather and leather products exporter.
Leather Research Center Director-General, Mohammed Hussein said over the last few years weak demand, supply challenges, and low productivity have caused a major decline in exports and revenues.
In 2020/21 exports were 40 million USD, down from 133 million five years ago.
However, in a 250 billion USD global leather trade market, the new strategy aims to tap the potential through solutions like organizing the sector into clusters, training to improve quality, and connecting companies to international buyers.
The strategy was discussed by different stakeholder from the sector.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency